Kenneth Kobedi
3 December 2008
Maun — Botswana Police commissioner Thebeyame Tsimako has vowed that no criminal will escape the long arm of the law.
Speaking at the Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) annual general meeting in Maun at the weekend, the police commissioner told participants that police are worried about the increase in the number of attacks on tourists, particularly in the Kasane and Maun areas. He said police were also alarmed at the fact that security guards, who are supposed to look after people's property, are getting increasingly involved in crime.
He said some security guards have been apprehended for their involvement in most of the crimes committed and would soon appear in court.
Simako told the meeting that police are doing everything possible to contain crime, saying the Botswana Police Service is currently working on a fingerprint automated system that will assist identifying criminals in a short time, while at the same time assisting in the reduction of waiting time at police stations that members of the public have for a long time been complaining about.
He said tour operators should always make sure that the security companies they engage have fingerprinted their employees so as to safeguard their clients' interests.
The police commissioner disclosed that just recently he heard of an incident whereby some security guards refused to be fingerprinted but instead decided to resign from their jobs because they knew they had past convictions.
"Fortunately those were some of the people we arrested because they had committed offences. So I call upon all of you to be on the lookout and get to know the behaviour of those that you employ," he said.
One participant expressed worry however about some reported cases that have gone unresolved because the tourists who were robbed had gone back to their respective countries before their cases could be brought before court. He said more often than not, such cases are ignored because those who would have given evidence in court would not be around to give their side of the story. He also complained about the fact that the police reveal so much detail to the media that it alerts the perpetrators. Patrick Penstone of the Neighbourhood watch 911 also made the police commissioner aware of an illegal community at the buffalo fence who call themselves the "DRC". These people are mokoro builders, who wait at riverbanks to transport tourists. They claim not to be governed by the laws of Botswana and therefore do not abide by them.
In response, Tsimako admitted that the prosecution of people who have stolen from tourists has never been an easy task because the police do not immediately recover stolen property. He said in most cases, they have recovered people's property when they had already left the country. Whenever possible, he said, the police always take contact addresses so as to communicate with such tourists to come and give evidence. The police chief stressed that they do not always force such people to come because they travel at their own expense.
If they cannot manage to travel, there is very little that the police can do, he said. On police-media relations, Tsimako said the issue is of very serious concern to him also. "Very soon I will issue an instruction that only police public relations officers speak to media people. "Yes I agree for sure that there are some police officers, who disclose unnecessary information. I will soon put a stop to that because otherwise there will be no direction."
He promised to address the issue of the "DRC people", saying, "I will make follow-ups and will alert officer commanding number 5 district and the station commander to liaise with North West District Council officials to go and meet those people and deal with them accordingly. I might as well go there and will speak to them in a language they understand better," he said.
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